


Onward

by Buckshots



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Flashing, Fluff, Nervousness, Romance, Smut, Some Silliness, proposal, super duper fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-22 13:14:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3730261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckshots/pseuds/Buckshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Corypheus has been defeated, and Cullen and the Inquisitor are ready to move on with their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written as a one shot but I'd be thrilled to continue it if people are interested.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I'm brand new to Ao3 so comments, kudos, suggestions, and such are extremely appreciated.

The sun rose as they stood there on the balcony, blissful in a soft embrace. For how long they watched, taking in the glory of the day, and one another’s presence, neither of them could say. When she had brought Josie out here for a chat, she’d timed her every word, curious of how long her friend could babble on about the antics of the nobility. But with Cullen? That would have spoiled their moment.

His arms had been wrapped around her this entire time, but she was beginning to feel the chill of his metal armor against the few bare parts her skin. Her forearms and hands were tingling of cold. He buried his face in her hair, reveling in this moment, taking in every scent, every aura she had. She pressed her head gently backwards into his shoulder, forgetting her tingly fingers for a moment, letting herself enjoy his possessiveness.

Finally she broke the embrace. She turned gently, wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a light, chaste kiss on his lips, before following up with a few kisses to his nose, and a few along his jawline. He giggled in delight. He… giggled?

“Cullen… did you just… giggle?” She began to giggle herself.

“Yes. Yes… I… uh…. yes. I did. Yes.” His smirk curved his scar into the shape of the waning moon, fading in the sky behind him, and his eyebrows did one of the cute sassy things she loved so much. 

“Damnit I love you.” Her hand reached to his chin and slowly ran down the side of his face as he leaned his head into her touch. He closed his eyes, and she wondered if he had any cares in the world other than her in this moment. Which reminded her.

She broke out of his embrace, walked past him, then shifted her body to face him. “I need to go…. there’s so much to be done, and it’s already dawn-”

He cut her off. “There is nothing that needs to be done.”

“What?”

“Nothing needs doing. We won. It’s over. I gave the troops not just the day off, but the week off. I’m pretty sure no one slept last night- everyone was partying, just like we were.”

“Just like we were? Are you sure about that?”

His sigh and eye roll were unexpected. “I wasn’t going to say anything about this, but I woke up halfway through our little post-bliss doze to the sounds of other peoples orgasms. One sounded much closer to Iron Bull’s voice than I’d like to admit.” Giggles lit up his face a second time that morning, bringing a warm glow to her countenance as well.

“I swear, Commander Cullen Stanton Rutherford I have never heard you giggle before today”.

“I would certainly hope not. But now I have reason to giggle. I- well, um, I just… Evelyn.” She heard his gloves hit the ground as his hands wrapped around hers. He held them in front of himself as if he was delivering a package. “I never… do you remember that day in my office? When I was having a meeting with some of the scouts, and then you lingered in the back until you caught my attention?”

Now it was her turn to giggle. Instead of a jovial laugh though, this one was sultry. “How on earth would I ever forget that day? We nearly broke your desk. It was the first time we’d made love, Cullen. If I ever forget any single detail of that event you have every right to assume I’ve been possessed or something. Few days, few moments are as important to me as that one”.

“Well, wow,” he grinned, taking a step to close the distance and wrap his arms around her neck. A kiss of want engulfed her lips. His tongue dove into her mouth, claiming, needing. She gasped, grabbing the railing behind her for support. 

Quickly he broke away and ran his hand through his golden hair. “No, wait. There’s… I have to…”

“What on earth do you have to do? You’re the one who just said that we don’t have to be anywhere today.”

“Point taken. You’re such a sultry minx… I… I can’t keep my hands off you, but I need to focus.”

“Cullen, you know that I’m not the one who does the majority of the seduction and domination in the bedroom. That would be you.”

“It’s an amazing way to channel my strength, my love, and it’s my deepest pleasure being able to pleasure you.”

Now her giggle was real. “That was a ridiculous sentence yet somehow it made me so turned on and happy.”

“I’m about to make you even… uh… happier. Well, I hope. If. I mean… you… Maker’s breath, woman, what are you doing?”

Her hands were raised to the clasps on her shirt, languidly undoing each fixture as she bit her bottom lip. Her gaze went directly into his eyes, and his jaw dropped as she took a good minute to remove the shirt, first revealing the beautiful curves of her bosom baring her breasts to his gaze. She hadn’t been wearing any bra underneath, and just…. 

“Stop it, woman. Stop. Andraste’s tits. I’m trying to do something.”

Her face fell. “You don’t like it?”

“What? What in the hell are you on about? Of… of course I like it. Yes. Yes...this is... amazing. You, my love. You are amazing. So goddamned amazing. I just... Maker’s balls. Let me talk for a second.”

She looked perplexed as she picked up her shirt and draped it over her shoulder.

“Evelyn…. I love you. And, that night… the one when we had sex on my desk. Well, the first time we had sex on my desk anyway. The first time we… uh… had sex at all, actually. We.... Why is this so damn hard?” He turned away from her, sighed, and shook a clawed hand in the air before facing her once again.

She looked down his body and saw what she hoped for. “I don’t know. Why are you so hard?” Nibbling on her lower lip, she demurely gazed up at him through her eyelashes.

The result was not exactly what she expected as he grabbed his own face, let go an exasperated sigh, and basically shouted, “Because of you! Everything… every single thing now is because of you. You’re the reason I wake up every morning. You’re the reason I sleep through every night, not tortured with nightmares but… happy. Calm. Peaceful. You bring me such peace, love, I don’t have the proper words to express to you how much of a difference you have made in my life.”

Evelyn’s mouth curved into the most lovely smile he had ever seen, and she started to feel a pounding within her chest. She was a sucker for romance, and loved his compliments. Not that he shared them rarely- he had a tendency to gush on about his adoration for her when they were alone… at least before things got steamy. The difference between talking and making love was substantial for them. When they were conversing, he would get awkward, stutter, work his way around sentences as if they were attacking him. When he got her in bed, or wherever else he took her, he was sure, certain. The dichotomy was the most wonderful thing in the world to her. This man was enchanting.

“Anyway, Evelyn. That night. I… uh… I asked you, well, I told you that I wanted to… uh… not move on from you, after this was all over… and then you, well, you said that you felt the same way. Not really. You didn’t say that. You seemed confused that I would even ask you but you never quite said…” He sighed the largest sigh she had seen come out of the man since meeting him in Haven, and then looked around, as if he was hoping the clouds, stones, or curtains were going to help him somehow. She stayed silent, hoping he would finish.

Finally, he continued. “Now it’s over. Corypheus is dead. We won, and I want… I want to make sure you still… feel the same way. I mean, do you? Will you stay with me?” The pleading, earnest look on his face was more than she could take. Enchanting, yes, but silly as well. The giggles, the uncertainty… they were utterly charming but she was almost offended that he felt the need to ask.

She faced outwards again, placing her hands on the railing and gazing at the sun rising over the snowy peaks in the distance. “Cullen, you know my answer”.

He came up from behind her, and wrapped her in his arms, the same way they had been standing earlier. His cold gloves and greaves were gone now, and he was all warmth and tenderness against her skin. She looked to the side to see that he had even discarded his breastplate. “You armor…”

“I don’t need it. The danger is past, at least for now. The only thing I’m in danger of is dying waiting for you to tell me you need me.”

She reached her hand behind her to play with his hair, and he nuzzled into her touch, planting kisses on her palm. “You silly Templar, of course I do.”

“Say it. Say those words exactly. Do you need me?”

“Yes, Cullen, I need you.”

“Will you...” she could feel his adams apple bounce against her hair as he gulped. “Will you stay with me?”

“Yes. I will stay with you.”

A few drops of liquid hit her on the forehead, and she realized he was sweating, as he spun her around to face him. His hands gently gripped both sides of her face, thumbs brushing stay hairs away from her eyes as he tilted her visage up towards him. Their eyes were locked, and all his awkwardness was gone. Her predatory, confident warrior had her in the palms of his hands, quite literally. It was now his turn to bite his lower lip, as his voice fell to a growl.

“Evelyn Trevelyan. Will you marry me?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WILL SHE SAY YES?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I can't believe the response to chapter 1. What lovely people you all are. Thanks for being rad. Comments and kudos and bookmarks and chocolate are very much appreciated. If you'd like to see this go in any particular direction, requests are noted and will absolutely be considered. Have a great day!

Everything started to spin. Thank the Maker she was holding on to the balcony, because otherwise, she might not have been able to stand. What was happening? Was this… was she in Antiva? There were lots of colors? Something was gold? Who even knew. Did Cullen just ask her to marry him? “What did you just say?” 

“Will you… will you marry me?” His scar twitched as his teeth bit his bottom lip in a manner she had never seen before. Playful. Sultry. Fantastic.

“Uh, oh my god”. Her axes were becoming inverted. She was pretty sure that a raven was flying over her, which made her conscious of her shirtlessness. Did ravens appreciate boobs? The rising sunlight glinted off of Cullen’s curly locks and nestled specks in his eyes. “Your hair… and eyes… they are like… so golden, you’re like a fucking golden statue man”.

His laugh, crystal dancing, filled the air. “I’m your fucking golden statue man, if you’ll have me, love”. Cullen giggled once more, and then pulled a ring box out of his pocket, opening it with a satisfying click. “I even have a fucking golden ring for you”.

“Holy shitstacks,” she gasped as she took her head in her hands and began to pace around the balcony in circles, repeating more expletives than he had ever come out of Sera’s mouth. Truly, the Inquisitor’s creativity knew no bounds. “Qunari nutsacks. Nugalope twatwaffles. Druffalumping humpsticker fuckbaskets.” 

The Inquisitor, Herald of Andraste, savior of basically everyone, ran into the wall. “Ow”.

“Darling, are you alright?” He tried to contain his confusion and amazement as he witnessed the sudden breakdown of the sexiest woman he had ever met. Here she was, breasts open to the outside world, lips swollen with their kissing and lovemaking just a few hours ago, hair still sweaty from the defeat of a centuries old Tevinter magister. Her pants clung to her ass with the sticky remnants of actions wonderful and lascivious. Her voice, beautiful and haunting, cursing the heavens she had just mended with her brilliance.

She stumbled around for a bit before wandering inside. It took a few moments of breathing before she finally allowed herself to collapse face-down on her bed. He followed, inquisitive, and perplexed, enjoying how she rubbed her legs together and bounced as her small form wracked with alternating sobs and laughter.. It was the funniest and most wonderful thing she had ever seen. “Seriously Cullen, what the fuck?”

His laugh turned from salacious giggle into a deep bellied grumble. “I have to admit this is not the reaction I was expecting”.

“Holy shit, we’re… who put you up to this? Was it Sera? Is this a prank? This can’t be happening”. Tears glinted off of her cheeks and her makeup was all over her pillows.

Cullen’s face compressed with concern. “Wait, is this a bad thing? Do you not… do you not want this? You said a minute ago-”

His sentence was interrupted by a pillow to the face. For a pillow, it was surprisingly hard. Perhaps it was the velocity, or at least the ferocity with which it had been thrown. 

“Of course I want to marry you, you dolt,” she yelled and then burst out into laughter.

“Then what in the Maker’s name…”

“I’m in fucking shock, Cullen, it’s a thing that happens when something you don’t expect to happen happens and then you have to deal with the happening happening and you don’t know how it happened but you just are so happy that it’s happening… to you… but you can’t fucking believe that the thing is now a thing that is happening and the the thing is amazing and just…” She walked out onto the balcony, and picked up her discarded shirt, putting it on her head like a hat.

“You end up wondering if the world is upside down, and since holes in the sky are an actual thing now, maybe shirts are hats, and handsome men are statues. And maybe, just maybe, a mage who was kicked out of her family at ten, who never ever thought that anyone would be interested in her… ever… could be with… a templar? A templar. Well, a former templar. They could fall in love and have awesome sex and be wonderful together and…” she moved close to him, putting her arms around his hips and looking up at him through tear-crusted eyelashes. 

“Maybe. Just fucking maybe. They could get married”. She exploded into the most melodious laughter he had ever heard as her face lit up like a fennec flambe on Satinalia.

He stepped back, away from her grasp, and removed his shirt, before placing it on his head as well.

“Looks like shirts are indeed hats,” he grinned opening his hands out in a playful gesture. She took the cue and leapt into his arms, bringing her lips to his, kissing him with a ferocity she only let slip when they were alone together. The kiss was not soft. It was not loving. It was not tame. They looked like they were trying to eat one another’s faces off there was so much bobbing, so much opening and closing of mouths. Hands were pretty much everywhere. Shirts were drooping down into faces. It was a complete mess.

They eventually tore themselves apart from one another when her shirt ended up in his mouth, and a button got stuck in his teeth. As he tried to remove the offending enclosure, she wiped the smeary makeup from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

“Yes, Cullen Stanton Rutherford, you big goof. I will absolutely marry you”.  


He lifted her up and threw her onto the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have some smut. I promised it in the tags :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the comments, kudos, and feedback. I know the last chapter was kind of silly. Hope this begins to make up for it. A continuation will be posted tonight!

She landed on the enormous bed and bounced once before stretching out. She stretched over the swath of blankets, enjoying a moment to luxuriate as she watched her handsome commander. He was enjoying looking her over as well- the earlier sloppiness and confusion was gone, but the playfulness? It was still here in spades.

Cullen took his time visually drinking in every aspect of her body. Her hair, his favorite shade, stuck to her face, back, and breasts. That delicate nose he loved to kiss. The glorious color of her skin, her freckles, her green eyes. Everything about her culminated in a perfection he could not have imagined before they met. The first time he had laid eyes on her, back in Haven, he had known she was special. Though they stood in the middle of a field of death, her vivaciousness had driven him mad. The scent of andraste’s grace had inspired him with awe.

And now she lay here, half naked on a mass of silken pillows and sheets, mewling, ready for him. His. 

He reached out to her, caressing her face, before using the fingernail of his pointer finger to flick her lip, and then slowly, languidly, draw a line from her mouth, over her delicate neck and jugular, past her visible clavicle, pulsing with need, between her breasts, over her ribs, down towards the top of her pants. As he reached the fabric, she squirmed beneath his touch, letting go a soft moan. Her gaze caught his, and she made a small pout, tilting her head downwards and looking up at him as she grinded her pelvis into his waiting hand.

“Not yet, my dearest,” he hummed as her face fell. “I haven’t properly claimed you...yet”.

“What does that mean? I just told you I’ll marry you, you frustrating, frustrating man. Touch me already”.

“Ah ah ah…” he pulled away from her, a fire in his stare. “You haven’t put on the ring”. 

Once again he pulled the case out of his pants pocket, revealing the gold piece. The single, subtle diamond shone on a design that looked like vines conquering an old elven ruin. It was a style he knew she liked well. He brandished the ring in one hand, and deftly tossed the box on top of their discarded shirt-hats. The well-practiced movement of the throw, the lift of his arm, caused his muscles to ripple in way that made her shiver with want.

Cullen approached her once more, taking her lips in his. All of the messiness of their kiss a minute prior had dissipated. Now there was need. Their lips caressed as if they were made for one another, two pieces of the same whole. He grasped her hand in his and brought it to his lips, then proceeded to kiss each fingertip, taking the tip to lick and nibble as he liked. 

She laughed for the umpteenth time that evening. “Stop it, silly. That tickles”.

“Oh, I’ll tickle you before the evening is out”.

“You’re very sexy, Commander, but tickling… not so much”.

“Oh really?” His eyebrow raised, and his lips parted at that comment. “I’ll take that as a personal challenge”.

He slid the ring onto her finger. A perfect fit.

“Now you’re truly mine, Ev. To have and to hold”.

“We’re not married yet, Cul”.

“But soon. Soon we will be”. He moved over her body, kisses trailing each curved line, pausing on each scar. His hands ran through her hair, over her face. They paused on her breasts where he gave a gentle squeeze and a turn, eliciting an intake of breath from his beautiful lover. Her back arched as he continued his ministrations on her torso, until she began to whimper for want of more.

Before she knew it, she wasn’t wearing any pants. They were out on the balcony, thrown as far as could be from her stunning legs. Her underwear was shredded, ruined by wanting hands and teeth as he drew kisses over her upper thighs. Breaths hitched as her hands met his waistband and his lips met her clit. Cullen’s concentration was broken for a moment as she pushed his pants down to his ankles, revealing his own lack of underwear, and all of his body to her view. He took a moment to kick off the stupid clothing, nearly tripping over himself in the process. 

Evelyn smiled, and buried herself under a few blankets, impish, daring him to come and dig her out. “Come claim your prize, Lord Rutherford”.

He wanted to pounce. He wanted to throw his frame at hers with all of the fun she had inspired in him. He wanted to let go of every inhibition he had ever possessed and just enjoy this moment with her. But her reaction to his proposal had been so deeply unexpected, so out of character, that he knew she needed something different. So instead, he slinked over towards the bed, and snuck one hand under the covers, pulling them off of her frame with as much care, as much specificity as he could muster.

She drank him in. The muscles of his chest, his impressive abdominals, his hungry cock, erect, ready for her. His sculpted thighs, the scars over his knees. The biceps she wanted to bite every time he came near her. And his face, his stunning face, with those golden eyes, pink lips covered by a scar… how had she gotten so lucky?

Tears began to settle in her eyes again, but they were of a different caliber than before.

Cullen knelt on the bed, and lifted up one of her legs, placing her foot on his shoulder. He kissed her big toe, taking his time suckling on each subsequent digit, planting kisses all over the top and bottom of her foot before nibbling on her ankle.

“You… are a… goddess, Ev”. He ran his tongue over the protruding bone at her ankle and once again took a toe into his mouth, all the while caressing her calf. “How could a glorious woman like you not find love?” 

His ministrations traveled up her lower leg until he was leaving love bites on her inner thigh. 

“Ev… my darling… if you had been in my circle… we would have found one another and loved each other there… I would have destroyed your phylactery, run away with you… I’m so glad that we didn’t have to. Makers breath, you’re the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. My dearest. My mage. My love. My inquisitor”.

He stopped his kisses and gazed directly at her face, soft with tears. 

“My Lady Rutherford”.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst and fluff.

“Cul, I’m not Lady Rutherford yet,” Evelyn reached out to touch his face, caressing the prickly skin of his chin as he pressed himself into her hand, taking in her scent. “You’ve only just proposed to me”.

“But soon… so soon…” He kissed her palm, and lasciviously nibbled on her wrist. 

“Wait… how soon?” She pulled her hand away and sat up straight, crossing her legs. “Do you have a plan or something? I know you’re a prodigy with troop movements, but weddings are another matter entirely. They take time, preparations- I’m sure Josie would be happy to help…

 

“I have plans,” he smirked, rising from the bed and going to fetch his pants. She watched, stunned, as he pulled the clothing back on over his engorged cock, untouched. “And you aren’t getting any of me until they come to fruition”.

“I beg your pardon”.

“I said… no sex until we’re married”.

“What the actual fuck. Why?”

Cullen winked. “I’m a bit of a traditionalist”.

Her scowl threatened to tear the sky asunder once more. “Like hell you are. We’ve had sex more times and in more places than I could list in five minutes. You’re full of shit, Rutherford”.

“I’m honestly not. You know my faith is important to me- while betrothed, you’re not supposed to have sexual relations”. He found his shirt on the mantle, and put it over his head, first backwards, and then the proper way. 

“I’d… I’d like one small part of my life to be close to what Andraste and the Maker would want for me. I’ve made so many mistakes, Ev…” he sighed. 

“Becoming a Templar… I never would have guessed that would be one of them. But the pain I caused so many innocent mages. So many incredibly young mages, who never had the opportunity to marry, never had the chance to know the type of bliss we have. All because I was angry at the boy next door, whose father was a famous mage in the fight against Orlais. Wilhelm was the father. Matthias was the boy. He was older than me and better than me at everything. And I just hated him, Ev. I hated his fucking guts. He was such a little twerp, bragging about his dad, how his dad was the only mage allowed to have a wife and family. Meanwhile, here I am with my mother and siblings, my dad… disappeared…”

Cullen let go a big sigh. “I took it as a sign that Andraste was right, that magic was meant to serve man, not rule over him. To me, Matthias was the example of everything that went wrong if mages were allowed freedom. I was such a complete and utter imbecile”.

She rose from the bed and made her way over to him, placing her hands on his chest and running delicate kisses along his collarbone. “You weren’t an imbecile, Cul. You were a kid. An impressionable, religious kid who had lost his father, and had to deal with an asshole for a next door neighbor”.

“But then I started taking lyrium and the things… the things I did. The things I … saw- in the Kinloch hold, with that demon. I had done terrible things to mages, Ev, I can’t even begin to tell you. I’ve been a drug addled mess for fifteen years, and I’m so tired of being useless”.

“You’re not useless, and you’re not a mess”. Chastely, she brought her lips to his. He began to explore her mouth with his tongue before pulling away.

His voice stuttered as he looked to the side demurely. “I- I… uh, guess... what I’m, well, trying to say… you’re not the only one who felt like this was impossible, or at least highly improbable in your life. I can’t believe I found you”.

“Ugh, then why in the name of the Maker will you not have sex with me?” The Inquisitor questioned, letting go an exasperated groan.

“We’re some of the most obvious people in all of Thedas at this point,” he began, sounding as if he was reading off one of his battle reports.

“This is true,” she nodded.

“And the moment we walk out of this room, everyone we know is going to lose their collective mind”.

“That is…. probably also true,” she giggled.

“I know you ask me to never bring up the whole ‘Herald of Andraste’ business, love, but honestly- how would it look if the Herald, or Inquisitor, whichever title you hate less, and her Commander- something out of a fairytale, the leader of the rogue army and her Commander… if they announced their engagement, two heads of the force of change… two signs of the religious world coming to terms with itself… and then accidentally found themselves to be, ah-” 

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

She leapt back and held up both hands, full of trepidation.

“Wait, stop, Cul, you did the thing”.

“The… thing?”

“The neck thing. Where you rub the back of your neck. It’s utterly charming, but you only do it when you are feeling especially awkward, and I haven’t seen you do it in private around me in monthes”.

“Ah. Well. Um, it’s probably… Maker’s breath. I don’t know how to attack this subject”. 

He rubbed the back of his neck again.

“Twice. This must be bad”.

Cullen groaned and lightly smacked himself in the face with his palm before slowly running that hand down his visage. “What if you… or if we… gah”.

“Spit it out, Commander”.

“It would look really bad if you got, uh…”

Evelyn pranced about the room, completely exasperated. “Got what? Fleas? Inquisitorial duties? What about magic powers? Oh wait a second… I already have those! Who would have guessed?”

“Why are you making this so difficult?” he asked, his voice increasing in volume and furor.

“Why aren’t you just finishing your goddamn thought?”

“GAH. WHAT IF YOU GOT PREGNANT!?!” he finally yelled.

Everything was silence. The aura of the room had shifted. The lightheartedness, the fun, the love, all of it went out like a doused candle. The Inquisitor stood, completely dumbstruck, eyes like saucers, chin attempting to graze the floor.

She ran her hands through her hair, averting her gaze to every point that was not Cullen’s face. Turning away from him, then towards him, then walking in a circle, she moved her arms around aimlessly until both hands came to rest on the center of her chest. Her head tilted back as she looked at him, mouth still wide.

“I have to admit, Cul, that is not something I had considered”.

“Well, darling, sometimes when two people make love-” his scar turned up in a smouldering smirk.

“Shove it, you sassy bastard”.

“But in all seriousness… it would not reflect well on the Inquisition or the Andrastian religion as a whole if two of the heroes of this mess, and by that I mean well, us, were to become engaged, and then show up to our wedding plump with child”. 

His voice had taken on his business tone again, and she didn’t particularly like it.

“Cullen, if you show up to our wedding pregnant, I’m not sure the sanctity of the Andrastian religion would be the first thing I’d question”. She reached around his hips to grab his ass.

He scowled, swatting her hands away. “You’re being infuriating today, you know that, right? You’re still naked and you’re tempting every bone in my body”.

She changed her focus to the front of his trousers. “There’s only one bone I really want”.

“Evelyn”.

“Honestly though… would that be so terrible?”

“Given how far we’ve broken from chantry rules, yes, I think it would look pretty damn bad”.

“But…” she looked away from him, searching for her pants. When she realized they were out on the balcony, she made certain to watch for circling ravens as she ran out, and then ran back in. To her surprise, there were no birds. “...in general… would that be so terrible?” 

His eyes filled with wonder as he took in her frame, filled with hope and promise. “Wait, you mean children? Maker’s breath, Ev, what are you asking me?” 

The Inquisitor did not blush often. She was a strong woman, someone who liked to be in charge. Not just in charge of her troops and her staff, but her emotions. But now, a mask of deep rouge tickled her cheeks and the tops of her ears. 

“Um… I guess I’m asking if you want to have children with me”.

The Commander did not shock easily. His life had been tumultuous, and he had seen horrors few could imagine, lived through days of torture, and taken multiple wounds that should have been fatal. He had been ambushed in the streets, attacked from behind in battle, knocked out by withdrawal to the point that he hallucinated for hours. But now, his eyes exploded in utter surprise.  
His voice was barely a breath. A whisper. A prayer. “Maker’s breath, Evelyn, yes. Not now… but someday… yes. I’d like that very much”.

He had never seen her smile so fully. Her eyes squinted and her cheeks threatened to consume her temples.

“You said that,” she uttered, tousling his hair with one hand.

He caught the hand with a belly laugh. “Stealing pick up lines now, are we?”

“That was a pickup line? I never would have known…” she tilted her head to the side, and her smile grew even wider.

“I am desperately charming and you know it,” he said as he sat back on her couch and tilted his head up proudly.

She plopped down next to him, placing her head on his shoulder. “I do know it. You’re awkward, adorable, and super duper handsome”.

He kissed her forehead and draped an arm around his love. “Quite”.

Hands traced circles on his chest as she spoke, “Now, what were those plans you spoke of? If I’m to be chaste for a time, I’d like to know how long that terrible time is going to be”.

Cullen took her hands in his and kissed them. “I’ve arranged a small ceremony here, in the chantry, with Mother Giselle presiding two weeks from today. All of our closest friends will be there, and no one else. It will be deeply private. I cannot believe Josephine agreed”.

“That’s extraordinary. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me!”

“That may be why I pulled you away from the party so early last night”.

“You really are a brilliant war strategist, Commander”.

“And here I thought you kept me around for my body”.

She smacked him on the chest lightly. “So anyway… why do we need to be completely chaste? If the fear is me getting pregnant, can’t we do… other things, things that don’t run that risk?”

His hands were running through her hair even before she finished her question. He gently pulled her face up to his, kissing her forehead, her nose, each temple, each cheek, and then her lips. His kisses were voracious in nature, claiming, needing. 

‘Inquisitor… I like the way you think”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all of the support! I'll update again in a few days.


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